Rotarily Yours - June 1, 2026 (Jun. 01, 2026)

Sharon Hamilton
(If you have any comments or questions, please contact the editor)

Jun 08, 2026

Falconer High School students

Jun 15, 2026

Dena Hirlemen

Jun 22, 2026

Danielle and Angelo Marra

West Main Mercantile

Jun 29, 2026

Presidents Dinner

View entire list

Make Up Opportunities

AM CLUB — Meets at 7:30 am on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month on Zoom or in person at Northwest Arena.

FALCONER — Meets on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month at 7 AM at the Falconer Fire Department Exempt Hall located at 1 Coleson Drive Falconer NY, 14733.

WESTFIELD / MAYVILLE — Currently meeting 2nd and 4th Tuesday at 5 pm at the Westfield YWCA - 58 S. Portage St.

FREDONIA/DUNKIRK —

Meet Thursdays at noon at SUNY Fredonia University Village Conference Room, 2nd floor.

Committee meetings or social events can also be used as make-ups.

Rotarily Yours - June 2, 2026

TODAY’S CHAIRPERSON:

President, Michelle Jones, welcomed the membership and led the club in the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of the National Anthem.

INVOCATION GIVEN BY: Vince Horrigan shared a personal story and prayer.

GUESTS & VISITORS: Vice-President Zach Agett introduced the guests today – Fran Lapinski, guest of Becky Robbins, Greg Leonard, from the AM Club, and Tom Labart, guest of Dave Painter, along with our outgoing exchange student, Sofia Cama, and Jan Steinmann, our current exchange student.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

President Michelle Jones made the following announcements:

DEI meeting June 3rd at CRCF.

Rescheduled Highway Clean-up, June 6th, 8:30 Park n Ride; bring gloves – an easy way to serve Rotary and the community.

Camp Onyahsa Bonfire with Rotary, June 10th, 6:30 pm.

Presidential Dinner, June 29th. Details to follow.

Golf Tournament July 13. Please see Max with team information; baskets needed, if you can make or collect a basket, please contact Max.

Exchange student, Jan, needs a ride to be in Fredonia at 3:30 on Friday.

Rotary yearly dues of $200/$210 if paying with card are due. You may pay half with balance due in December.

Sign-ups are needed for check-in 50-50 and invocation for June.

Sue Jones, Rotary Historian, brought a book full of past Rotary highlights -1938-39- that included a letter from Hon. Robert H Jackson, as well as a note from former President Herbert Hoover. She passed the book along for members to view.

Ruth Lundin, Membership Chair, announced the name of Fran Lapinski, whom the committee and the Board have approved for membership. If there are any concerns regarding Ms. Lapinski, please contact Ruth in writing.

John Felton announced the need for three more interviewers at SWCS on June 11th.

50-50 DRAWING:

Matt Clark, the 50-50 person of the day, presented $36 to Dewey Jones, the lucky winner.

SERGEANT AT ARMS:

The following FINES were levied by Doug Conroe:

Dan Heitzenrater for being pictured in the Gazette.

John Felton for the PJ article for “warehouse management,” at 811 N.Main St re: repossessed vehicles.

Diana Meckley for Denise being again recognized as one of the 250 most powerful women in WNY.

HAPPY BUCKS:

Doug Conroe congratulated his grandson for being 2nd in the pole vault event for N. Collins.

President Michelle recognized Jamestown Rowing for its 20th anniversary. She expressed her appreciation for he Rowing Club as its training helped her daughter get through college.

Greg Jones also thanked the local club and recognized the Syracuse Rowing Club as it is #9 in the nation.

Emily Cama noted her pride in her son being in the Top 10 students at Southwestern.

John Felton, CEO of Southern Chautauqua Federal Credit Union (SCFCU)

Sue Jones introduced our own John Felton, CEO of Southern Chautauqua Federal Credit Union (SCFCU). The SCFCU had its beginnings in his parent’s family room and has become a five location (soon to be six) location Credit Union serving our area. Its mission is to serve working families (also known as (ALICE families- Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) with a current membership of 21,500 and is ranked in the top 5 credit unions in Western New York, with $165 million in assets.

John gave an excellent slide show explaining credit unions vs banks and the role that SCFCU plays in our community. Some examples of how SCFCU is different are: it’s a not for profit; it enjoys capital reserves doubles the regulatory expectation; it donates $100,000 annually to other non-profits; it believes in the power of relationships; it does not focus on previous defeats but celebrates victories. SCFCU believes in “empathy, understanding, helping others.” Its priority is people rather than businesses.

SCFCU is a community-chartered credit union since 2004. It has six branches with 82 staff and four additional High School based branches. It is a NCUA low-income designated credit union. SCFCU works with and hires many of our communities’ “ALICE” people/families. Seventy percent of SCFCU’s customers are high quality, 30% are low Income.

The SCFCU has a program designed to assist teens save and incentivizes them by incremental 10% interest and credit cards (with limitations). Unique school logos on credit cards are available.

SCFCU has purchased 8ll North Main Street (the old Rite Aid Building). They anticipate investing approximately $3 million into this project with an expected opening in fall of 2026. The new location will operate as a full-service branch and will also house about 20 back office employees. The facility will include a community room with the capacity for meetings with up to 30 people. This facility will also feature a secure garage for storing repossessed cars which is yet another function (and story) of learning responsible and personal financial management.

John gave an excellent presentation of which only some of the facts are listed here. I would encourage you to listen to the entire presentation on our website.

STORY BRIEF

Members from the Rotary Club of Jamestown heard from this year’s exchange student, Jan Steinman from Switzerland, during the May 4 club meeting.

STORY CONTENT

Exchange Student from Switzerland Presents to Jamestown Rotary Club

Jan Steinmann, the Rotary Club of Jamestown exchange student from Switzerland, was the featured speaker for the club’s May 4 luncheon and meeting. Jan was introduced by Cáitlín O'Reilly, club President-Elect and who also has been hosting Jan for the past several months. Jan is from Lucerne and is a student at Southwestern Central School, where he participates in Cross Country. Cáitlín noted that since he's been in the United States, Jan has become more understanding of American humor and loves American food.

Jan provided an excellent presentation, sharing details about his life in Switzerland, as well as what he's been up to since coming to the U.S. and Jamestown. He shared details about his home country, noting that it is relatively small (about the size of Connecticut) with a population of $9.1 million. The main language spoken there is German, along with French, Italian, and Romansh. It is known for being located in the Alps. When it comes to food, its mostly known for its cheese (including Fondue) and chocolate. His hometown of Lucerne is known for the Chapel Bridge, built in 1333 and renowned as Europe's oldest covered wooden bridge and the world's oldest surviving truss bridge.

Jan shared that he speaks German, but also speaks English and some French. He enjoys the outdoors and plans to be a graphic designer when he returns home. He said that his father is a nursing home director, his mother is a nurse, and he has one sibling (a younger sister). He said that his father is a Rotarian, and encouraged him to join the Rotary Exchange program. He admitted that he hoped to go to either New Zealand, Norway, or Canada. He was accepted to placed in District 7090. He was unaware that District 7090 includes Western New York and was surprised he was placed in Jamestown. However, he said that he wasn't disappointed and actually enjoys staying in the U.S. and in our community - where he is learning more about American Culture and has also gotten much better with his English. He also looks forward to traveling and will soon visit both New York City and Washington, DC. He said traveling has been his favorite part about staying here.

During Q&A, Jan answered a variety of questions. He talked about education in Switzerland, saying that schooling typically lasts nine years there and then they move on to work, apprenticeship, or university. He also said that he doesn't have a specific favorite food (it all tastes good) and likes to eat anything. He said one of the biggest surprises for him is how dependent Americans are on automobiles and how frequently they use them. But he added he understands why, because things are more spread out here. Everyone Thanks Jan for his presentation and sharing more details about his life and time here in the U.S.

Pictured are Jamestown Rotary Club exchange student Jan Steinman, club President-Elect Cáitlín O’Reilly, and club President Michelle Jones.

# # #